How many times have you heard – "Automakers are sitting on a data goldmine"?

Even if you've only worked in auto tech for a few years, I'm sure you’re used to hearing claims that sound like this -

· "Data is the new oil of the automotive industry"
· "Automakers are sitting on a data goldmine"
· "Data insights will change the mobility experience forever"

It would be very hard to argue against those statements, as connectivity in all major automotive markets continues to grow and more OEMs start to pay serious attention to implementing remote diagnostics and vehicle data strategies.

What is also clear is that many challenges still exist. A key issue is the path that OEMs should take

This strategic decision, which the majority of OEMs are still wrestling with, is crucial to the success of their future data efforts. It has been shown that a coherent data strategy can lead to internal benefits, such as after-sales servicing, warranty avoidance, product improvement, and repeat purchases through data-driven CRM, to name a few.

The key enabler for remote vehicle data and diagnostics is embedded connectivity. SBD predicts that the number of vehicles shipping with embedded connectivity is set to double in the next 3 years in the leading automotive markets of Europe, US and China, reaching 52% by 2020. This upward trend has many positive implications for the connected car but a key consequence is that it will provide many additional data use cases that other connectivity methods such as smartphones or OBDII dongles are unable of providing.

In addition to this, if OEMs build out their connected car teams, invest in the right infrastructures, establish partnerships with data platform providers/analytics companies and instill a data-driven company culture, they will be able to receive financial rewards from their investments by providing data to interested 3rd parties such as insurance carriers, large-scale fleets, advertisers and data marketplace providers.

The automakers that adopt the most ​active approach to remote vehicle data will undoubtedly come out on top and "first movers" such as General Motors and BMW are already reaping rewards.

Once again, the industry is experiencing a growth in the number and type of companies that can move the connected car forward. In the vehicle data space alone, different concepts are being championed by a variety of new and established technology players e.g. B2B vehicle data marketplaces such as Otonomo and Caruso Dataplace, SDK developers such as HighMobility and Smartcar and juggernaut data platform providers such as IBM and Microsoft.

If you're interested in learning more, SBD has just released its first "Remote Vehicle Data & Diagnostics” report, tackling issues such as:

· How OEMs are currently utilizing vehicle data
· The components and architectures needed for a remote data programme
· The legislative outlook for data in the era of GDPR
· The use cases that are most likely to generate revenue
· The future outlook for remote diagnostics in the next 5 years
· How OEMs need to restructure themselves to take advantage of this opportunity
· ….and many more

If you would like to download a preview of 'Remote Vehicle Data & Diagnostics',